Choice
by Jean Hicks
Summary: What if someone different had met Harry at King's Cross Station during the Final Battle? What if instead of being sent back, he was given a choice? AU, Alternate to The Deathly Hallows. Check it out and R&R!


**A/N: First Harry Potter upload, had been chilling in my folders for a while. Very short, alternate (ending?) to The Deathly Hallows in which Harry is given a very important choice. Read and review if you please! Thanks and enjoy! :-) **

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The first sensation Harry felt was a cool breeze. Any pain he had felt before that moment in the Forbidden Forest was gone. Harry opened his eyes. The light was blinding, but he adjusted to it quickly. Slowly Harry stood up. A vast expanse of white stretched around him. Harry was certain he was alone, until his eyes caught on a bench further down the walk. There appeared to be a man sitting, arms on his knees, fingers folded and waiting.

Harry walked along, trying to be quiet. As he drew closer, the figure became more distinct. He was wearing a loose white frock shirt over black dress pants. The sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled to his elbows. Familiar black hair hung in thick sheets around his cheeks. Slowly the man turned and his onyx eyes met Harry's brilliant emerald orbs. "Potter."

The younger man's breath caught in his throat. "Professor…"

"Please sit." The man gestured to the bench and Harry hastened over and sat down. "I'm certain you have many questions." Harry nodded. There was an extended silence. Professor Snape sighed. "Are you actually to speak, Potter? Or am I to suffer your silence until we're called from whatever place this is." His tone was sharp, but it held none of his usual malice.

"Exactly what is this place, sir?" Both men looked around them at the brilliant white expanse. "I mean… it looks kind of like King's Cross. Except—"

"Cleaner." The older man cut Harry off with a rough, barking laugh. "Yes. I was thinking much the same." They shared another rough laugh before they lapsed into another silence. Minutes seemed to pass in which they did nothing but breath. "My memories." Snape began, not looking at the younger man.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, and then shut it again. It would be pointless to say he had seen them. Of course he had seen them. After a moment, Harry settled for "They're safe, sir. All of them." Snape let out a _harrumph_ of approval and they once again fell to silence.

"Sir…" The emerald eyed hero began again, "I feel like I should thank you." For the second time they met each other eyes. "For everything you did…" Harry's voice fell off. For some reason, tears threatened to spill over Severus Snape's lids. He looked away quickly.

"I didn't do it for you." Snape's voice was rough with emotion. Harry nodded slowly.

"I know sir." Silence. After a while, Harry made a statement that was rather morose. "And yet, I believe you were the only person who ever saw me as a person. Not a hero. Not The-Boy-Who-Lived. Just Potter." Harry sighed. "Just some mouse-haired chit with a disregard for the rules. I hated it, sir, but looking back… it was rather refreshing. All that hero-worship… look where it got me." He laughed bitterly.

"Death has made you wise, Potter," Snape paused for a second. "No… As much as I hate to admit it… you were a wise man before death." He tried to formulate his next thought so that Harry would understand. "You have a choice to make, Potter."

"A choice?" Harry stammered.

"Yes." Snape's voice was short, but softened at his next words. "You realize now you have never had many of those." He held up a thin hand to stop the protest on the tip of Potter's tongue. "I'm not talking about petty choices, Potter, like whether you want to date Ms. Weasley or Ms. Chang. Or whether you want pumpkin juice or butter beer. I'm talking about real choices."

"You never had choices either, Professor!" Harry said obstinately.

Snape sighed. "Yes. I did. And I paid for my choices by having all choice taken from me. The same man that took my choice away never gave you choice at all, Potter, and that is a travesty. From the moment you were born, your life was dictated for you. Up to your death." They lapsed into silence again as Harry contemplated these words.

"So," Snape continued, "That's what brings us here, I suppose. You have a choice to make." He flexed one pale hand, "On one hand, you can go back. Live out your life. Perhaps, though I rue the idea, have a few children. Come to death at the proper time." The other hand flexed open. "On the other, you can choose to go beyond."

"Beyond, sir?"

"On. To a land for people who die before their time." He motioned with a great sweep of his hand into the brightness. "The Mutt will be there. Remus too. And his young bride. Countless others. Your father. And Li—" He took a deep breath, as if the name pained him. "And your mother. You would see them all again. Live out eternity with them."

"And you? Will you be there?"

"What does that matter, Potter?" Snape snapped.

"As I said before, you saw me. The real me. You have given me choice. I guess… I want your friendship. I judged too quickly in life. I want the opportunity to fix it."

"I don't need your pity." His words were a staccato that echoed, like marching feet in a deserted hallway.

"It's not pity, sir." Harry said, and then he let the subject drop. The envelope of silence closed over them again. After a while, Harry broke the seal, and his voice was very small. "I don't know what to do, Professor. Can you help me?"

Severus nodded. "If you stay, you leave the fate of the human world – your friends, your girlfriend, your future—in the hands of the people you left behind. One of which is Neville Longbottom. God help them all. However, the Dark Lord will die. He is too weak now to continue his path. You were his last string to his soul. So, the Light will prevail." His eyebrow rose thoughtfully. "But you will leave those people behind. If they die of old age, you will never see them again. They will, as strange as it may seem, learn to live without you. And they will have wonderful lives."

Harry nodded. "If I go back?" He looked into the whiteness.

"If you go back," Severus said darkly, "You will be a hero. You will vanquish the Dark Lord. You will have friends and family and fame. Everything you could ever want. Live long. Prosper. Die a ripe old age. Fight the good fight… et cetera."

Now the silence was a fog between the two of them. Snape could see Harry struggling. Finally his face relaxed. "I am so tired of fighting, sir. It's all I've ever done. Certainly you can understand…"

"Harry…" Snape turned to face the young man who was now gaping at the use of his Christian name. The professor placed a hand on Harry's knee. "Harry. Everyone tells you that you have your mother's eyes… even I can see… Lily…" He stumbled painfully over her name. "Even I can see her in you. But you have something else of hers as well."

Potter looked at him, startled by the change of topic. "What is that, sir?"

"Her courage." He sighed, stood up, and walked towards the pillars that were materializing from the brightness. "When you went to the Forbidden Forest tonight, Harry, you were ready to die. To leave everything behind. To sacrifice yourself. You did not expect this outcome, and frankly, neither did your friends. The choice is purely yours. You were ready before…"

"It's hard." Potter admitted.

"Yes. And… there is no paradise waiting for you on either side. If you go on, you can still feel. Perhaps even more sharply than before. It is this feeling that will make it sweeter than life itself." He stopped for only a moment. "We are running out of time, Harry…" Severus had pulled a silver watch from his pocket. He met Harry's eyes. "The simple question is, are you still ready?" Behind the brilliant emerald he saw a flash of decision, followed by the wet of tears.

"I don't want to fight anymore, Professor. I want to go." The tears were falling freely now. He stood up and walked towards Snape.

Severus Snape nodded and under his breath he muttered something that sounded a lot like "Courage…" Out loud, however, he said, "Very well then. This is not a journey you will make alone." He reached out his right hand and grasped Harry's thin shoulder. Harry nodded, firm in his choice though his cheeks were still wet with tears.

"Yes…"

"Step lively then, Harry. We have a train to catch."

Harry could feel acutely the warm weight of the hand on his shoulder as, together, he and the older man crossed through the barrier. The weight was still there when they caught the train… and then throughout the ride to beyond. True to his word, Severus Snape never left him. Guided by the comforting hand on his shoulder, Harry Potter did not make the journey alone.


End file.
